US And South Korean Military Send A Clear Message To Pyongyang

North Korea's recent nuclear
test incurred the standard international handwringing that
follows most of what Pyongyang pulls off in that corner of the
world. But once international leaders stepped from the cameras
the real exchange began.

The Erie cruised out to the waters off the island of Kauai and
waited for the missile range there to launch a medium range
ballistic rocket to be brought down by Erie's Aegis system.

There have been dozens of successful Aegis tests over the past 10
years, but this was special because the Erie used new
off-the-shelf electronics to work with an orbiting tracking
system. The space-based system allows the Aegis to take down
incoming missiles far sooner and at much greater distances than
before.

Sooner means safer and with incoming ordnance out of the way,
offensive strikes can be delivered that much earlier.

For its part South Korea reminded the North it had a missile that
could strike deep into the North and offered video showing
the Hyunmoo-3C launched from a submarine and a shipboard
system.

The weapon's current configuration has been in service for almost
a year, but now seemed a good time for a South Korean ministry
official to announce how accurate the missile actually is.

"The cruise missile unveiled today is a precision-guided
weapon that can identify and strike the office window of the
North's command headquarters."

Not to be outdone, South Korean army Major
General Ryu Young-Jeo had this to say: "With this
missile, we could hit any facility, equipment or individual
target in the North anywhere, at any time of our
choosing."

South Korea's military jumped to high alert following the
North's test and remains there now as it puts all plans for
missile defense and greater projection into high gear.

The Aegis intercept video from the Erie is below. The
action decidedly picks up at about 1 minute in.